Trouble with Maniaics (on hold after next chapter)
by Lighting wolf knight
Summary: The Trouble siblings are Warner studios new secret weapon, after discovering that their predecessor: The Animaniacs were locked away after their show ended, they resolve to get the trio their show back. Rated T for Violence, death and mild profanity and mild adult jokes. Dot X Punchline, updated possibly every other Monday. updates for now. This chapter on Monday and is 800 words.
1. Trouble with Animaniacs

**Sup guys, Lighting Wolf here, back with another story, this one about Anamanics. Enjoy the 1900-word chapter. I don't own Anamanics, Tom Ruegger, Warner Brothers Animation and Steven Spielberg do.**

 **(Monday Morning, studio lot.)**

To anyone else, the sight of a trio of kids wouldn't have raised so much as an eye brow on the lot, in fact, most of the residents didn't care as it was becoming time for many to leave as the day was just wrapping up.

It however, was who the trio was that turned heads so fast that some swore they caught whiplash. Being led by the security guards were a trio of kids that resembled one of the lot's most crazy residents, although they resembled more cat like then the Warners people confused them with.

Their names were Punchline, Shriek and Meek Trouble and they were the lot's newest stars.

Punchline was smaller then his brother Shriek but taller then his brother meek, he was half the size of a normal human and wore red sneakers, a blue jacket with over half a dozen pockets and zippers, a pair of black sunglasses and a pair of black leather fingerless gloves along with blue sweatpants. A small but noticeable smirk was on his face as his ocean blue eyes scanned through everything around him, looking for something to joke about as his long stalky ears twitched.

Meek was older and 14 but was smaller than Punchline, only coming up to his knee, his size was matched only by his mouth that sometimes-made vulgar jokes, he wore an orange shirt, blue shorts, White gloves and a satchel around his waist as he hid behind Punchline's legs as the Trouble sibling turned and reassuringly patted his brother's head.

Shriek was easily nearly the size of a human and was 19, his orange hoodie, black boots, black gloves and grumpy frown set him apart from his siblings who were optimistic.

"Man, that first day, almost made me think it wouldn't end, eh, big brother?"

Meek said as Punchline simply shrugged as he waved the guards off, he wasn't one to talk much, at least if he didn't have something snarky or funny to say.

"It's alights, boys, we're be fine, the only thing that's dangerous around here is Shriek's sense of humor… Have a good night at home."

Punchline said as Shriek grunted in annoyance as Meek and the guards laughed, tipped their heads in response as they left, leaving the trio of triplets alone as the sun finally set, cloaking the lot in darkness as Punchline looked around.

"Ok, they gave us an entire warehouse on the lot to use for sleep… Now, I will see you later brothers…"

Punchline said as he ran off with all the speed that a toon like him would process as Shriek growled in anger.

"Would it have killed him to at least give us a sign that he's going to run off?"

Shriek asked as Meek pulled a sign out of seemingly nowhere that said 'Punchline is running off!' as he turned to his older brother.

"How's this? Or did you prefer a more obvious one?"

Meek asked as he rushed off to find his brother as Shriek merely growled in anger about both of his siblings making jokes about him.

 **(Warner lot.)**

Meek was slower then his brother, that was obvious, Punchline was a year younger then him after all, he sped around the set like a bullet fired from a railgun, only pausing to look at something.

"Wait, what's that?!"

Punchline asked as he sped towards a section that also encompassed a water tower that had a sign taped to it that read 'WARNING: RESTIRCTED AREA, DO NOT ENTER FOR ANY REASON, DO NOT OPEN WATER TOWER, AREA CONDEMED!'

The words meant nothing to Punchline who was fond of trouble and while the boy was by no means simple minded or stupid, his curiosity at the situation made him climb the rungs of the water tower like a processed madman as his brother caught up to him, Shriek behind him as he observed the various locks and chains on the entrance to the water tower.

"Meek, I think the sign is wrong, it says condemned but it's obviously wrong, condemned means people shouldn't enter, not that it shouldn't be touched."

Punchline said as Meek wrapped his hand on the metal of the tower, he was answered by a tap back as he turned to Punchline as his brother pulled out a grenade from his pocket.

"I thought those were only props."

Shriek said as Punchline flipped the explosive into the air as he shook his head with a smirk.

"Sort of, they're not going to kill anyone… But I think we should make an explosive entrance… Besides…"

Punchline said as he gently rolled the grenade towards the entrance as it blew the locked metal open like a knife through butter as Punchline and his siblings stepped inside.

"Sorry about the door, it took us a while to find the key, can we borrow a cup of slugger while we are in the neighborhood?"

Punchline joked as he looked around, he heard laughter before a voice spoke up.

"Sure, if we had any, we just gave the last batch to the tax collectors… We owed them a lot of dough."

Punchline heard as he turned and saw a trio of figures in the moonlight as a gust of cold wind slammed the door as Punchline turned to Meek.

"Meek, did you forget to pay the electric bill or did you forget where the light switch is?"

Shriek asked as Meek clapped his hands, brining on light as the figures were revealed to be a group of kids that looked no older than them.

One obviously was the leader due to his height and also wore, Punchline could tell he was a lot like him, a smartass if the time required it but full of jokes that were matched only with the brown pants he wore.

Another was a boy that reminded him of Meek, his dorky smile and baseball cap only made it more apparent as Meek bowed as the boy did the same.

The third figure was a girl who reminded him of himself in just as many ways as the tall boy, the buried humor, the sassy attitude, the need to be beloved.

"What you staring at us or trying to place a newspaper picture?"

The lead boy asked as Shriek crossed his arms and gave them an annoyed look.

"Who are you guys? You guys look as old as di-..."

He started to say as Meek and Punchline elbowed him, the trio looked sad, like they had dealt with this but being forgotten had hurt them.

"Yakko, Wacko and Dot Warner…. You're the Anamanics!"

Meek and Punchline said at the same time as Punchline held out his hand.

"Punchline Trouble."

Punchline said as Yakko gave him a smirk as he fists bumped the boy.

"That a name, or a cry for help? Yakko, like you said."

Yakko said as Punchline grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Why, you introducing yourself or offering a help wanted ad? This is Meek, he's my little brother… Even if he's older… The angry hulking monster is Shriek, don't mind him, he doesn't bite, just barks."

Punchline joked as Wacko and Dot laughed as Shriek lunged at his sibling only to be sidestepped and crashed into the wall.

"Let me guess, Uhh…. The one with the cap is Wacko, the girl who looks like a female version of me is Dot?"

Punchline asked as Dot rolled her eyes as she stepped forward.

"Why, you have to deal with two older siblings always trying to steal the limelight?"

Dot asked as Punchline rolled his eyes and move his glasses to his head.

"Ahh…. If you count having to look out for two siblings despite them being older then you and having to fill the same role Yakko does… Then yes… What are you guys doing up here, Plotz get angry you forgot to pay taxes?"

Punchline asked as Meek walked closer to Wacko.

"No…. Its…."

Yakko started to say as Meek spoke up.

"Your show got canceled, forcing the company to lock you away until they can unveil you as an old classic in a desperate attempt to get more money if need be?"

Meek asked as the Warners blinked before Meek and Punchline shared a look.

"We're the smart ones in the group."

Meek and Punchline said at the same time as Punchline put a hand under his chin before looking at the walls.

"Now I know why they hired us…. Meek, fall in, soldier!"

Punchline said as Dot, Yakko and Wacko shared a look as Meek gave a salute as he waited in front of Punchline as he started to march back and forth.

"We have a mission, to help our fellow super stars get back to stardom… We are going to help get the Warners their show back!"

Punchline yelled as Shriek finally pulled his head out of the wall as Dot, Yakko and Wacko all blinked like they had heard that they had won the lottery 3 times.

"It may just be the cold, unbearable fact that we've been locked in the place we call a home for 20 years and have finally gone insane… But did you just say you were going to help us?"

Yakko said as Punchline pushed opened the door to the Warner tower at Punchline's motion as Punchline motioned to a billboard that had been put up that showed the trio.

"Well, considering Plotz put you through artificial house arrest... And solitary confinement, as I said before, Plotz probably hired us to take your place… We've been getting paid more money than we could use and we really don't need it all if we're living on set… We could put a little of every paycheck we get towards toying to get your show back…. All you guys need to do is make sure Plotz doesn't find out…."

Punchline explained, sidestepping Shriek whom lunged at his brother as he tripped over the railing and comically landed in a heap at the bottom. Meek smiled.

"Besides, half the staff here are so focused on our show that they would never know you guys were out, they'd probably think you'd broken the lock on the tower again… Besides, we could honestly use mentors…."

Meek said as Wacko and Dot eyed him, mischief in their eyes, they could tell part of that statement was wrong, Punchline had a grasp of humor that made him seem like he would be as funny as him as said Trouble sibling turned to face the trio of Warners.

"So, did you guys want to team up? We really could use someone to help us tell better jokes… Unless you've decided that we would be too much trouble for you?"

Punchline said, amusement at finally finding someone who the triplets could have fun with evident in his voice.

Dot and Yakko's smiles were all he needed to answer as Meek and Punchline smiled right back

Author notes

 **Phew, first chapter done! Yes, Punchline, Meek and Shriek are the main characters, as for why the Warners were locked in the Water tower again? Its supposed to be a meta joke about them being locked up after their show ended, I will possibly be writing a chapter every other Monday for this story but until then, this story will have infrequent updates. Until next time, Lighting Wolf out!**

 **PS: Next chapter will show more about the Trouble triplets and their show.**


	2. Night talk

**Summary/disclaimer: Time another chapter of Trouble with Maniacs. Enjoy the 1000-word chapter. I don't own Anamanics, Tom Ruegger, Warner Brothers Animation and Steven Spielberg do.**

 **(Tuesday, studio lot, 2 minutes after TV show taping.)**

Punchline leaned against one of the cars in the lot as everyone continued to move past him, the Trouble's show: Troubling Adventures, had ended 2 minutes ago at 8:00PM, which the show did every day.

"Man, Plotz must be dumber than a sack of hammers if he hasn't noticed the Warners running around."

Meek said as Punchline rolled his eyes and leaned in towards Meek's face as he did so.

"Don't tell him that, your bruise his massive ego the size of the sun… Then again…"

Punchline muttered as he walked and pulled out a stick of dynamite out of his coat pocket, something he was glad about was that his pockets were filled with as many explosives as the boy could need as he dropped the stick of dynamite as it exploded, setting off a barrage of fireworks as the sound drew out the three Punchline and Meek were waiting for.

"Wow, you guys get around for people who were locked in a water tower for 20 or so years and haven't seen the light of day… Did you guys watch the exercise channel the entire time?"

Meek joked as Punchline smiled and gently nudged his brother.

"Meek, please show some manners for the trio that have made the world smile and laugh for years and was so popular that it inspired Plotz to attempt to recreate it by creating our show which focuses entirely around slapstick humor and jokes and thus was compelled to hire us to make more money for his insecure need to be the richest person in the lot… Either that or take a bath, you smell worse than Shriek's mouthwash…. Aka his normal breath."

Punchline joked as he heard Wacko and Dot laugh as he pulled out another check from his pocket.

"Another 100 or so bucks for our efforts… I'm sorry Shriek can't be here, he'd have a meltdown over us giving part of our checks away."

Meek said as Punchline raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall.

"Shriek has a meltdown if his water isn't a certain way… I'd think the better thing to say is name something that doesn't bother Shriek…"

Punchline muttered as Wacko looked at them, Punchline was reminded of Meek as he cocked his head.

"Why did the boss hire you?"

Wacko asked as Meek and Punchline shrugged, both had a different reason but both had no idea why the name had hired either of them as the main characters of their show.

"Would you believe it's because of our devilishly good looks?"

Meek asked as Punchline watched Dot look at him as he smirked at her, causing both toons to blush as Punchline shrugged and turned to Wacko to speak.

"I honestly don't know, we got a call from Plotz after a few of our online videos blew up…"

Punchline said as Yakko blew a kiss towards the sky as he did so.

"Goodnight everybody!"

Punchline heard the toon say as he laughed and put two fingers to his head in a mock salute.

"I always like to say: See you around next time, folks! Usually its Meek that has a dirty mouth… I should never have let him stay up past his bedtime, it's my fault as a brother… That I didn't allow that sooner."

Punchline joked as Wacko and Dot once again laughed, Punchline was happy to have made the two toons laugh like they did, they had made him and Meek laugh when they were kids.

"Ok, you may have a sense of humor, but some of your jokes are…. Ehhh… Basic."

Yakko said as Punchline raised an eyebrow as he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Sorry, I was busy practicing on national television, I'll try to upgrade my service tomorrow, until then, that's up to my agent."

Punchline muttered as Yakko smirked back, he could see that Punchline had a snarky mouth, not unlike his own, it was no wonder that Plotz had hired them to replace the trio.

"I think you created a monster, Yakko… He did get his smart mouth from television… Well, he had a smart mouth to begin with but shows like the _Anamanics_ didn't help…."

Punchline heard his brother said as he turned to the reader and shook his head.

"He watchs a few educational shows and he thinks hes the smart one of the group, his egos also bigger then Shriek's at times… Man, this is going to be a long story, I hope the author can handle it!"

Punchline muttered as the group laughed as Yakko walked up to Punchline as the two group leaders reguarded each other as Punchline reguarded the Warner leader with all the respect he deserved, he was one of the main reasons the Troubles had agreed to come to the lot in the first place, not that hed allow the Warners to know that… Yet.

"Ok, its been fun, but Meek has to get his beauty sleep… He doesn't have the best looks, hes the one who tends to make dirty jokes, im the one who tends to have both… At least accorind to the show, can never tell if those things are current or factual.."

Punchline said, dragging his brother off as the Warners watched the siblings leave.

No one but Yakko notced Dot sigh with admersions as the duo left to return in a hour or two for their nightly talk.

Author notes

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, I wanted the Warners and Meek and Punchline to be having a joking/conversation. Shriek is also not going to be in every chapter since he is a grouch and isn't a team player at the moment… As for Punchline and Dot? They will be interacting more directly in a few chapters. Next chapter will be on next, next Monday and will possibly show a normal episode of the Trouble's show. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	3. Day Off

**Summary/disclaimer: Time another chapter of Trouble with Maniacs. Enjoy the 900-word chapter. I don't own Anamanics, Tom Ruegger, Warner Brothers Animation and Steven Spielberg do.**

 **(1 week after Trouble Time, Saturday.)**

Punchline sat on their house, a warehouse that they had been given by Plotz after making him so much money.

"I'm bored…"

Meek muttered, looking up at the sky in amusement before looking at his brother who simply laughed.

"Ok, bored, I'm Punchline… We're all bored, Meek, there's nothing to do on Saturdays and this chapter is shorter than it should be."

Punchline said as he checked his watch before realizing what he said.

"See you later, folks!"

Punchline said with a mock salute as he turned to see the Warners rush by as Meek pulled a glue trap and tossed it on the floor.

"Fly away little birdie!"

Meek yelled as the trap hit the floor and stopped the Warners as Punchline lifted his glasses to look down at the Warners.

"Sorry guys, my brother makes bad decisions when he's bored… And bad jokes…Then again…"

Punchline said as he went back to sunning himself, he pulled out a water balloon from his pocket and tossed it at the glue trap, degrading the trap and freeing the siblings as they climbed up to the warehouse.

"What are you guys doing here? You guys need to get a life?"

Yakko asked as Punchline snickered, remembering the episode from his childhood.

"No, we live here… And I think the better question is simple… What are you guys doing here on Saturday? There's no people to play with…. I'd love to run around the lot, but there's not much fun if there's no one to talk to… Then again…"

Punchline said as he tossed a grenade into the distance, he turned back to the Warners who were confused.

"Shriek is like Yakko… If Yakko only liked girls and not jokes and slapstick… And wasn't funny."

Meek muttered as the explosive went off, there was a shriek of anger as both Trouble siblings chuckled.

"PUNCHLINE! YOUR DEAD FOR THAT, I WAS ABOUT TO LOOK AT THE PROPS!"

Shriek yelled from where he was, Punchline rolled his eyes from under his shades as he looked into the distance.

"Yeah, of course you were, Shriek, you keep lying like that and you're not going to get any money from the Tooth Fairy!"

Punchline muttered as Yakko, Meek and Wacko swooned at the thought of the woman visiting them to give them cash for a tooth.

"HELLO NURSE!"

The trio yelled before Dot huffed in annoyance and bopped them all with a mallet Punchline handed her as he continued to read a magazine.

The trio bounced up and down like an accordion as some of their teeth fell out.

"Boys…"

Dot muttered, shaking her head as the trio started to collect them as Punchline leaned towards Dot.

"He's the second oldest between us… And yet he has the mind of a dirty ten-year-old... Id worry about him, Dot."

Punchline muttered as he went back to his magazine that included the Trouble's schedule on it for the next season.

"Says the one who's mouth is smarter than a supercomputer... Plotz hired you because he wanted someone to replace Yakko, so I don't want to hear it!"

Meek yelled as Punchline rolled his eyes under his glasses once again.

"So much anger for such a small toon… See you around, folks."

Punchline said with another mock salute as the Warners and Meek laughed at the implications of the joke as Dot laughed.

"Geez, no wonder Plotz hired you to replace Yakko!"

Punchline heard Dot say as he smiled, he couldn't tell if she was joking or not, he returned to his magazine as Shriek started to run at them before Meek pulled out a banana and tossed it on the ground, tripping the Trouble sibling and causing him to smash into the wall as he looked up at his brothers.

"Always a slipup… Never understood how he got into show biz… It's a shame."

Meek muttered while Punchline smiled at his brother's joke as Shriek grunted and started to walk away, muttering curses left and right as both brothers rolled their eyes.

"Give him an hour… Or ten and he will be fine… He's been like this ever since he was a kid, Meek… Least as I remember it."

Punchline muttered as he finally got up from his seat and tagged Dot on the shoulder.

"Tag! Catch me if you can!"

Punchline said as Dot ran after him, saying something that sounded like 'come to mama!' as Meek turned to the other Warners.

"So, how long until they get together, Wacko?"

Meek asked as Punchline flipped onto a car before sliding under it before Dot could catch him.

"I'd say by chapter 10… Give or take a few breaks in writing."

Wacko muttered as Yakko checked his clock, the chapter was about to end as he poked Meek and his brother and motioned for them to walk away.

Author notes

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, I know this chapter took a while for it to come out, I want to point out these chapters aren't going to come out for a while, it takes a while for me to come up with ideas. I will probably upload another chapter in 2 weeks or so. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	4. Normal day

**Summary/disclaimer: Time another chapter of Trouble with Maniacs. Enjoy the 800-word chapter. I don't own Anamanics, Tom Ruegger, Warner Brothers Animation and Steven Spielberg do.**

 **(2 week after Trouble Time, Sunday.)**

Punchline was alone today, his brothers had gone off to get ice cream, and the Warner Siblings were gone to prank some of the guests that came to check on the set.

"Man, if today was any more exciting, I'd be bursting with joy…."

Punchline muttered, he didn't notice Meek climb up onto the roof the fellow Trouble Sibling was on.

"You can't burst, we haven't gotten to… No, that joke is just bad…"

Meek muttered, somewhat annoyed at his inability to tell a somewhat risqué joke.

Punchline turned to face his sibling and blinked, the two brothers sat on the roof of the building.

"Meek, what are you doing here, I thought you guys went to go get a snack?"

Punchline muttered, Meek shrugged, it was somewhat hard for the brothers to joke since they were still young to the world of joking, it came more naturally on set.

"Eh, someone had to keep you company this chapter or else it would have been boring…. Shriek is going to be gone for a few hours, he's trying to joke with a group of guys that he thinks love his jokes… Not that I have much room to talk of that, I can't even tell the same caliber jokes that I can offstage as I can onstage."

Meek muttered, Punchline lightly ruffled his brother's head, he knew it was hard to tell the brothers apart off set as only their clothing and height was the only thing really telling them apart.

"Eh, don't sweat it, little brother, it's hard to tell us apart when we aren't filming Trouble Time…. We're still rusty on humor, it comes with that and being nervous…. It's one reason we need help from the Warners, we will never be able to be as good as them until we get some more training… Besides, we are brothers after all, we are going to act a bit similar… It isn't like we can help that yet… It's too early in the story for that to happen…."

Punchline muttered, he looked up at the sky, wondering what would happen next on this day.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's hard to tell us apart, I've had people mistake me for you, brother… It's crazy at times… It really is…"

Meek muttered, he rolled his eyes in annoyance, Punchline nodded and sighed while leaning on the roof, neither sure what to do today and neither having the slightest idea where to go next at the moment.

"Hmm… Like I said, that time will come… It just takes time… Much time at the moment, this story did just start after all, things haven't settled into place yet… Speaking of which, is Shriek going to be gone ALL day? Because if he is, then we should go home… I don't feel like waiting for him all day just for him to show up, get ticked off a little, then come back home to sleep and do it all over again… Then again, that's how he is on the show and off the show, so I doubt it would be much different if we went to go get him now…"

Punchline muttered, he had no idea what his brother was up to, and he really didn't want to know, Shriek was far from being adult, but some of the jokes he made put Meek to shame… That, and he was much too arrogant for Punchline's taste.

"Know him? He's probably off trying to look for a contract or something…"

Meek muttered, Punchline rolled his eyes at this, nodding.

"Yes, because he has to have merchandise and all that… We've only been on air for a month, we aren't going to have video games and all that yet… Freaking…"

Punchline started to say before cutting himself off, it wouldn't help to curse.

"Let the idiot have his moment in the sun, big brother, it won't last."

Punchline heard his brother say and laughed, it would be time for them to go home soon.

"Yes, it won't…. Ok, let's go home, brother, there will be time to crack jokes and be silly soon…. Depends on what happens next though, things are going to be boring for a while… Let's go."

Punchline muttered before sliding off the roof, his brother following him soon after that.

Author notes

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, for now this will be the last chapter, I want to be able to flesh out the Trouble siblings like people wanted and I can't do that yet… I also have new stories coming so there's that… I will post when next chapter will be, until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


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